Amateur and pro gamblers like Pittsburgh

Great report here by Stephen Nover for Covers.com.

Some have a clear perception the Steelers will be loose having experienced big games before, while the Seahawks could come out tight. They feel the Seahawks are vulnerable, stepping up in class having not faced a major challenge away from home.

The Seahawks have yet to beat a team with a winning record as the visitors. Seattle also has lost and failed to cover six of its past seven following a bye week.

The Steelers, on the other hand, are the best road team in the NFL having won 16 of their last 18 away games. They won nine road games this season, the first in history to accomplish the feat.

Pittsburgh ranked No. 3 in rush defense. Their physical 3-4 defense can cause problems for Shaun Alexander, who has rushed for more than 45 yards just once in four playoff games. Seattle led the NFL in scoring, averaging 28.3 points a game.

However, Seattle detractors can point out those statistics were padded by the Seahawks playing six games against weak division foes San Francisco, St. Louis and Arizona. The Seahawks averaged 34 points against those teams.

For sure I like the Steelers this Sunday, but there's no such thing as a lock in football. Seattle has probably at least a one-in-three chance of stealing the win here. Nover again:

Recently The Gold Sheet newsletter ranked the Giants-Ravens game in 2000 as the worst of the 39 Super Bowls.

Could this season’s Seahawks-Steelers matchup turn out just as bad?

Betting patterns indicate it’s possible. All the money came on the Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV and the bettors were right. The Ravens dominated the Giants 34-7, in what was a very boring non-contest.

Once again, as Nover reports, all the money appears to be on Pittsburgh.

I love a good rout. The more the Steelers score and the less the Seahawks score, the more I enjoy the game. No doubt about it. I watch too many football games to think a 24-21 game is a "better" game than one in which the Steelers win 41-0.